In my own observation through my teaching in Nhu Thanh Secondary&High School, I see that most of my students are aware of the importance of learning English in which vocabulary plays an
Trang 1PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
In today’s global world, the importance of English cannot be denied or ignored.
It is the most common language spoken internationally With the help of developing technology, English has been playing a major role in many sectors including medicine, engineering and education It’s the official language of 54 different countries and is spoken by over a billion and a half people worldwide Adding together native speakers, people who speak English as a second language or an additional language and people who are learning English and it’s the most commonly spoken language across the globe So what makes English so great? And why do people want to learn it? I guess the simple answer is because of the widespread use of the language in education, science and technology and most importantly, in business, English opens doors to employment, education and travel Therefore, an ability to communicate in English is vital, particularly in the present economic climate; the vast majority of companies list English among the essential qualities required for posts particularly at management level English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to use English if they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in English Its importance in the global market place therefore can not be understated, learning English really can change people,s life Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English Therefore by learning English you will have access to a great wealth of entertainment and will be able to have a greater cultural understanding Most of the content produced on the internet (50%) is in English So knowing English will allow you access to an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise available!
In our country, English has been regarded as the most important foreign language nowadays, especially since the Vietnamese Government carried out the open door policy, English has been taught for a long time in Vietnam It becomes a compulsory subject in most universities and schools throughout the country However, the emphasis on transmission of structural rules and forms often sever as the principal method of teaching English in Vietnamese schools and universities.
There are two important parts which we have to master if we want to have a good knowledge of a language: vocabulary and grammar structures It is said that
Trang 2words are bricks and grammar structures are mortar So we can't build a good wall of
a language knowledge without one of the above two parts
In my own observation through my teaching in Nhu Thanh Secondary&High School, I see that most of my students are aware of the importance of learning English
in which vocabulary plays an important role However, their English vocabulary seems still very poor Many students say that they have not paid much their attention
to learn vocabulary items by heart, they have problems with word formation and usage A lot of them have not learnt words in context; and they are lack of excitement
in the classroom, etc…
Deliberately vocabulary teaching is one of the least efficient ways of developing learners in vocabulary knowledge, (because students can easily and independently enrich their vocabulary), but nonetheless it is an important part of a well-balanced vocabulary programme The main problem with vocabulary teaching is that only a few words and a small part of what is required to know a word can be dealt with at any one time This limitation also applies to incidental learning from listening
or reading, but it is much easier to arrange for large amounts of independent listening and reading than it is to arrange for large amounts of teaching Teaching can effectively deal with only a small amount of information about a word at a time The more complex the information is, the more likely the learners are to misinterpret it Vocabulary learning, both within and outside the domain of reading has been a key part of English education in our school There is a need for more students centered approaches that improve both the retention and usage in a progressive fashion that goes beyond rote memorization.
It is very clear that teaching vocabulary is too great and various to talk about With the limitation of this paper, I will only focus on some techniques which are regarded as the most effective techniques in my teaching vocabulary here.
II AIMS OF THE STUDY
- When writing this innovation, I wish to offer some ideas to find the best methods in teaching vocabularies.
- I do the research to know about the fact of learning vocabularies of students
so that I can provide them with some easier ways of learning vocabularies.
III SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Researching in the process of teaching vocabularies at Nhu Thanh Secondary&High school.
Trang 3IV OBJECT OF THE STUDY
This research is carried out in grade 12B1 and 10A2 at Nhu Thanh Secondary&High school.
V RESEARCHING METHODS:
- The method of collecting and analyzing material for the resarch: Research for material concerning about the subject, analyse and get certain knowledge from previous researches, finally give the foundation to the research.
- Exchange method discussion: Discussion with other colleagues after visiting their classes to draw out experiences.
- Experimental method: This research is also carried out in my teaching vocabularies.
PART TWO: THE STUDY
I THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASIS:
1 Theoretical basis:
English has played a vital role in society and made considerable contribution to education, culture, science and technology The number of people learning English for various purposes (such as for job, business, traveling…) is continually on the increase everyday Therefore different kinds of English teaching and learning materials are available over the world, especially in Vietnam In our country, English has been regarded as the most important foreign language nowadays, especially since the Vietnamese Government carried out the open door policy English has been taught for
a long time in Vietnam It becomes a compulsory subject in most universities and schools through out the country
As we know that, the aim of teaching a foreign language is not only to provide students with the knowledge of language to solve exercises, or to do the exam, but it also helps students to have abitity to communicate with other people in that language.
So, in order to communicate in a foreign language well, students ought to have good ability about Listening skill, Speaking skill, Reading skill, Writing skill These skills can be done well or not, they are based on the number of vocabularies of students It
means that the number of vocabularies of students plays an important role in
improving skills.
2 Practical basis:
After many years of teaching English in Nhu Thanh high School, and now I am teaching English in Nhu Thanh Secondary&High School, I find that the large number
Trang 4of students are very are afraid of learning English, especially in learning new words because according to them, new words are difficult to learn by heart, but easy to forget so whenever the teacher asks them to check old lesson, they always feel nervous This leads to result they have low marks, that is why they always say that English is the most difficult subject To solve this problem, in the past few years, I have helped students to overcome the difficulties by creating interesting lesson in every period of lesson so that students can feel more interesed in learning English So
I decide to choose this research subject
II THE STATUS OF THE RESEARCH SUBJECT:
1 The advantages of teaching vocabularies:
1.1 For students
We know that English has become a compulsory subject in most schools, when students were in primary and secondary, they also were taught this subject, so when they enter high school, they also have a basic knowledge, they are familiar with the ways of learning this subject On the other hands, students themselves realized the importance of learning English so they spend more time, money on their study and buying facilities which help them study better Besides, the facilities which the school has to help students study are good and enough.
1.2 For teachers:
- Most teachers have good knowledge and good method of teaching English, besides, they love teaching Moreover, students are interested in learning English.
- Most students have motivation in their study
2 The disadvantages of teaching vocabularies:
2.1 For students:
- As I said above, the large number of students is very afraid of learning English, especially in learning new words because according to them, new words are difficult
to learn by heart, but easy to forget Besides, some students are lazy in learning vocabularies, they don,t have motivation in their study.
- Classrooms are too crowded so some students don,t have opportunity to practise their English in class.
2.2 For teachers:
- Some of teachers have difficulty in teaching new words because they have not created an interesting learning environment.
- There are also some teachers who have not applied new teaching methods so this makes students feel bored when learning English.
Trang 5PART THREE:
SOME SOLUTIONS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY
I PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH SKILLS/OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN WORDS INDEPENDENTLY
1 Vocabulary notebooks:
Traditionally, the teaching of vocabulary was mostly incidental, limited to
presenting new items as they appeared in reading or listening texts This indirect teaching of vocabulary assumes that vocabulary expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills So students can independently build their own vocabulary by creating a Vocabulary Notebook It is considered the best way to self-study words to enrich the vocabulary To set up your students' vocabulary notebook, divide a spiral notebook into 26 sections, (one for each letter of the alphabet), allowing two or three pages per letter It's best to keep vocabulary separate from the Unit Porfolios, because many of the new words your students will learn along the way will not be specific to the thematic unit Vocabulary notebook pages can be helpful for students not only to observe their progress but also to establish an increasing awareness in reading Research has shown that it is much easier to remember words in context than in simple lists Students can also keep their vocabulary words in a file on computer It will be easier when they want to review their vocabulary lists.
Each day, students should make a vocabulary list of unknown words found while reading a newspaper, internet… At the end of the reading, students will be expected to make a vocabulary entries into their notebook If the student does not across any new words, choose new words from the "Vocabulary" section of the current unit study The student should arrange the entries as follows:
+/ Write the date of the entry next to the word.
+/ What part of speech it is (countable noun, uncountable noun, transitive verb, intransitive verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, or preposition)
+/ Include the sentence where you first found the word.
+ Write the definition of the word from context.
+ Write the antonym of the word as derived from the context.
+ Write your own one complete sentence using the word.
Example:
+/ Transplant(08/9/2014) /træns'pla:nt/
Part of speech: Verb
Definition: Plant in another place(Cấy/ cấy lúa)
Trang 6Antonym: harvest
Sentence: My parents usually transplant before Tet holiday
+/ Narrow (20/9/2014) /'nærəu/
Part of speech: adjective
Definition: of small width(Chật hẹp)
Antonym: big/large/wide
Sentence: The road to my village is very narrow.
2 Review:
And of course, review is very important to reinforce their vocabulary Once a week, verbally go over a random list of words Ask students to use each word in a sentence Check off the words that the students master Review all the words at the end of the semester If student follows the instruction regularly, he/ she will build up and strengthen their vocabulary independently.
3 Teach students the meaning of specific words:
Teachers can help students learn the words directly by giving the attention to words Here are some ways of quickly giving attention to words:
3.1 Quickly give the meaning by:
+/ Using a translation.
+/ Using a known synonym/antonym or a simple definition.
+/ Showing an object or picture.
Example:
- Transplant /træns'pla:nt/ (v):
- Plough /plau/ (n/v):
+/ Giving quick demonstration.
Picture 1
Picture2
Trang 7+/ Drawing a simple picture or diagram.
+/ Breaking the words into parts and giving the meaning of the parts and the whole word (the word part strategy).
+/ Giving several example sentences with the word in context to show the meaning +/ Commenting on the underlying meaning of the word and other references.
3.2 Draw attention to the form of the word by:
+/ Showing how the spelling, pronunciation, stress of the word
+/ Showing the prefix, stem and suffix that make up a word
+/ Writing the word on the board
33 Draw attention to the use of the word by:
+/ Quickly showing the grammatical pattern of the word fits into (countable,
uncountable, transitive, intransitive, etc)
+/ Giving a well-known opposite, or a well-known word describing the group or lexical set it fits into.
II SOME TECHNIQUES TO EQUIP STUDENTS WITH SELF-STUDY SKILL:
The most fundamental idea that should underline any method is that "the most important vocabulary to work on, is that the learners learned yesterday" The nature of human memory dictates that vocabulary (like all item and system learning) will probably be forgotten, especially if the word has just been met The loss vocabulary happens because it is at the initial stage of word learning that word knowledge is so fragile This means that words and phrases need to be recycled often to cement them
in memory Introducing a word and not recycling or revisiting it, means that it is likely that it will be forgotten Coursebooks are usually very bad at recycling, so the teachers should work out ways to equip students with self-study skill
1 Rote learning:
There are two main stages in learning words The first stage is achieved when a connection is made between the meaning and the form (its spelling or pronunciation)
of the word The second stage is much more difficult and involves knowing when to use the word (and not use it), its word relationships, its shades of meanings, and so
on The first stage of learning a word is quite easy and can be done most effectively
by rote memorization such as by using word cards.
There are many ways which learners can learn vocabularies by heart, they can use words card to write new words, or do exercises…
2 Guessing word meaning from the context:
Trang 8By far the most important vocabulary strategy to teach is to 'guess unknown
words from context'.
2.1 The most important vocabulary learning strategy.
When you learn a language, most of the words are not taught to you, you pick
them up from books, the internet, TV or from conversations There is not enough time
to teach thousands of words one by one in class, so language learners must also know how to guess the unknown words successfully Therefore, guessing from context is the most important vocabulary learning strategy Sadly, many teachers just expect learners to know how to guess well, but there are thousands of learners who could be helped to be more successful at guessing So how is it best done?
2.2 How to guess word meaning from context.
The first thing is that when a learner meets a new word ignore it If it is important it will come again If they meet the word a second time and communication breaks down, then they should try to guess its meaning Initially, it is important to make them notice its part of speech, and then they should look for clues around the word to help with the meaning If they have an idea, they should try to substitute their guess into the sentence to see if the meaning of the sentence is clear They will soon realise if they have the wrong part of speech, or wrong meaning Finally, they can use word affix knowledge to confirm the guess (they shouldn't start with affix knowledge
as their guessing strategy otherwise they will make many mistakes, e.g 'antiwar' means 'against war', but 'anticipate' does not lead to 'against cipate')
However, it is vital to understand that when teaching learners to guess words from context that they will not be able to guess successfully until they know about 90-95% of the other words in the text Then teachers should give them some tips to guess words in the following types of context clues:
- Cause and effect: Label the sentence C & E, then make a guess.
Because we lingered too long at the restaurant, we missed the beginning of the
movie ( to linger (v i) = to delay, to remain or wait long; to be slow or reluctant in parting or moving )
The door was ajar, so the dog got out of the house ( ajar (adv) = slightly
turned or opened)
- Opposite/contrast: Underline the two words or phrases in contrast to one another,
then make a guess.
Even though I studied for hours, I flunked the test (flunk (v.i) = fail)
Trang 9 My last apartment was really small, but my new one is quite spacious.
(spacious (adj) = large, ample )
- General sense: Focus on S, V, O, doer and recipient of action What type of word is
it?
If it is a noun: a person, place, thing, abstract idea
If it is a verb: an action (e.g., movement?), or feeling/ emotion, etc.
If it is an adjective:what is it describing? Good or bad? Size? Color? Emotion?
Each summer thousands of tourists flock to the beaches of Cape Cod (flock
(v.i) = gather )
The father tossed the ball to his little boy (toss (v.t) = to throw something with
the hand )
- Synonyms or paraphrases (found elsewhere in the sentence or paragraph)
Samuel was deaf, but he didn't let his handicap get in the way of his success.
(handicap (n) = a physical or mental disability of the body which makes normal human activities more difficult or impossible )
- Examples in the text:
The baboon, like other apes, is a very social animal (baboon (n) = the
dog-faced ape, a kind of large monkey)
- Recognizing definitions; common in textbooks, newspaper and magazine articles.
Many children of normal intelligence have great difficulty learning how to read, write, or work with numbers Often thought of as 'underachievers', such
children are said to have a learning disability, a disorder that interferes in
some way with school achievement
3 Visual thinking:
Visual thinking is a learning style where the learner better understands and retains information when ideas, words and concepts are associated with images Research tells us that the majority of students in a regular classroom need to see information in order to learn it Some common visual learning strategies include creating graphic organizers, diagramming, mind mapping, outlining and more.
How does visual learning help students?
Visual learning helps students clarify their thoughts
Students see how ideas are connected and realize how information can be classified and organized With visual learning, new concepts are more thoroughly and easily understood when they are linked to prior knowledge.
Visual learning helps students organize and analyze information
Trang 10Students can use diagrams and plots to display large amounts of information in ways that are easy to understand and help reveal relationships and patterns.
Visual learning helps students integrate new knowledge
According to research, students better remember information when it is represented and learned both visually and verbally.
Visual learning helps students think critically
Linked verbal and visual information helps students make connections, understand relationships and recall related details.
Visual thinking and learning utilize graphical ways of working with ideas and presenting information Research in both educational theory and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the best methods for teaching students of all ages how to think and how to learn.
Visual thinking and learning in education
Visual learning strategies such as graphic organizers, diagrams, outlines and more are being used in classrooms across the country These strategies help students
or all ages better manage learning objectives and achieve academic success As students are required to evaluate and interpret information from a variety of sources, incorporate new knowledge with what they already have learned, and improve writing skills and think critically, visual learning tools help students meet those demands Paired with the brain’s capacity for images, visual learning strategies help students better understand and retain information.
MONEY
Make Earn
Waste
Invest
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ENVIRONMENT
Temperature
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